Emergency plans meeting
for groups

A special meeting is been held in Lancaster for community groups to find out more about how they can prepare for future flooding and blackout emergencies.

Following Storm Desmond last December, a number of local communities have been planning what they will do if there are similar problems in the future.

Several groups have made successful bids to the Community Foundation for Lancashire for funding to improve the resilience of their local community centres and now plans have been written, local emergency centres equipped and volunteers identified.

Two community groups will be speaking about their experiences in developing emergency plans and encouraging other communities to consider preparing their own.

Jenny Walmsley, chair of Caton-with-Littledale Parish Council, who will be talking about their joint plan with North Quernmore, said: “After the floods affected our village last December I realised that we had no plans for an emergency centre if anything like that ever happened again. How to get the Victoria Institute opened at night, how to contact key people, who might need help.

“Creating an emergency plan seemed the next step and we’ve worked with part of Quernmore to prepare a scheme that means our areas are better able to cope if there’s another major emergency.”

Coun Caroline Jackson, who has been heading a resilience commission task group for the city council, said: “There has been some real progress in improving community resilience after the storms and flooding but we are very keen to develop it further and build a network of resilient communities in the rural and urban areas of the district. “

The Community Resilience event will be held in the Banqueting Suite at Lancaster Town Hall at 7pm on Thursday November 10.